Grant and Aubrye

Well, a month and a half later I am finally posting a brief recap of Grant's wedding! It was a great day and we all had a lot of fun. Both the reception in CA and in UT turned out beautiful. I did the flowers for the UT reception and was happy with how they all came together, but disappointed that I didn't think to get more shots of them (or anything else that night), except for the cake topper shown above. As is also evident from the shots above, the Bride and Groom were both radiant and our little Jake was quite a charmer as well. Alli looked so cute in her "princess dress" and would have loved to have worn it for a week straight! She is such a girly girl, I love it! She and her little cousins all matched and all looked adorable! Anyway, the fact that she was wearing a nice dress didn't seem to hinder her exuberance for playing in all things water though. We had to watch her closely at both the luncheon and reception to keep her from going swimming fully clad! (It was pretty hot though, I admit!) Anyway, as I do have to make this brief, I will share just one more highlight. And THAT was watching the kids all dance out on the dance floor. My nephew Derrick was especially fun to watch as he displayed his many break dancing moves. He was then reported to have told his other Grandma not in attendance, (and pretty matter of factly I might add), "I was the life of the party!" And then, even though there was not a dance or dance floor at the second reception, he still "got down" out on the lawn to just the "mood music" that was playing. It was so cute! We hope that Grant and Aubrye enjoyed their day as much as we did and we are so excited to have Aubrye in the family! We can't wait to get to know her better and are so happy for them! Congrats once again you guys! We love you!

Super Star Mom

Or anything but. Today was one of those days I just should have stayed in bed, not that everything has gone wrong, but just ONE TERRIFYINGLY AWFUL thing. Chalk one MORE up for me on the "not so super mom" tally. Alli fell out of the shopping cart today, and yes, she is fine, but she sure doesn't look like it. I am refusing to take pictures because I don't constantly want to be reminded in the future. But I am recording it, just as my mom did for me when I fell out myself when I was a baby. (I broke my collar bone, so I guess I shouldn't be complaining.)

I was walking into Kmart from the parking lot and was just about to remind Alli to sit down (as she was standing up in the back side of the cart) and we hit a lip where the asphalt meets the cement. The next thing I know I am watching her FLIP in slow motion over the edge and land on her face...THEN she flipped again! I was SURE she had broken her neck and I was actually witnessing her death. I was terrified! She of course started crying and actually got up, as she was holding her mouth that was filling with blood. Well, I was relieved that she wasn't paralyzed, but now quite certain that she had knocked every one of her teeth out. It didn't take long to determine that her teeth were still in place and that the source of the blood was just a gash in the underside of the upper lip, but at this point the gigantic bruise on her forehead emerged and her eye started to swell. I of course checked her eyes for sign of a concussion, but all seemed well. I comforted her and she calmed a little while a few nice onlookers came to help. One nice mom told me her daughter did this just last week and was fine, but it didn't seem to help much at the moment.

I called the doctor for instructions and several minutes later, with a box of Backyardigans Band-Aids and a cow stuffed animal in hand, we are home. I know everything will be fine now, but I can't help but think how much more of this I can handle. I guess I have always know that things just happen when you raise kids, but maybe I was hoping that somehow all of mine would grow up unscathed? Fat chance. So far Alli has severely burned her hand once, and pretty badly another time. I have gotten locked out of the car with her still inside, ultimately necessitating the breaking of a window to get her out. And now this, not to mention the many less memorable bumps and bruises along the way. And she is only 2 1/2!

I just really don't do well with these "I can't believe this is happening" moments. I do really watch my children pretty well, or so I thought, but I guess I really WOULD have to be Supermom to save them from ever getting hurt.

So.Darn.Cute.

These make me happy. Maybe I have just been jealous of Alli's PURE JOY over the rain, each and every time it happens, or it could be the fact that they are So. Darn. Cute. But my heart is all aflutter over the thought of JOY-ning Alli in PURE fun playing in the rain together. Ooooohhhh.....problem....It also makes me happy to make my husband happy, and nothing makes him happy like keeping money in the bank! What to do, what to do....

If any of you are thinking, "I know exactly what to do!", then you might be interested to know I found these on Target.com and they have probably at least 30 different designs! Maybe they will make you happy as well!

Lazy Days of Summer????

Yes, Yes, I know.....no one needs to say anything. My summer days have been anything but lazy, whose ever are? But obviously when it comes to my blogging, the term couldn't be any more fitting. I do hope to be a little more on top of it the coming months though, as I also hope to have a little more structure return to the household.

That being said, we returned a week ago from a great family vacation for my brother's wedding and just had their last reception last night. I feel like I have been doing wedding stuff all month, but it all turned out great. We are excited to have Aubrye in the family. Congrats you guys, we love you! I will post a summer and wedding picture recap shortly, but also really quickly want to give a shout out and congratulate Toby and Jeanne on the birth of their little girl yesterday! I am so glad she came early!! We love you too!

Yet ANOTHER month in Review!

Well, somehow another month has flown by and I never even finished reviewing the last! I wish I could say that I didn't even have one spare second to sit and blog with all the craziness in my life, but the truth is that I did. Upon further investigation though you would find that although I did eventually encounter moments of personal time this month, I most often found myself filling those moments just trying to recover from the rest of my life.

Last summer, after what I felt was a particularly unproductive summer (particularly in the "memories" dept.), I made a commitment to myself that this year would be different. I'm not pregnant, I don't have a newborn, and I really don't have any good excuses. Each day I see my children grow and change. It is so exciting to see all the new things they learn, but I am also reminded how quickly the time goes and that I should enjoy it while I can. I don't want to look back and realize that I missed it because I let "life" get in the way. With that being said, I wanted to make more memories for myself and my family a priority this summer, and I have happily been able to do so.


SO, although I also want to have a gourmet meal on the table every night for dinner, and I would like a clean house daily, today is not that day or that night. But what I do have is a happy family and many smiles to share and remember. My hope is that I will EVENTUALLY be able to have my house clean as well though!


In Review, we were able to spend time with my family as we attended my Uncle Richard's wedding, we played in the rain, played at the pool, played with more cousins as we saw more of Ryan's family, celebrated Father's Day with a camping trip and a new pontoon boat, and went fishing a few more times as well! Alli absolutely loves her pink "polefish" and even caught a little Bluegill! And at this time of year, I am reminded how especially grateful I am to live here in this great, beautiful, and free land that affords us so many opportunities. We are truly blessed and happy.

Month in Review, Installment I

Well, as promised, I am finally here to post a recap of our most recent happenings.

We jump started the month with our first "family of four" vacation with a trip to California to visit the family. We hadn't been back in over a year and we were chompin' at the bit to go. As luck would have it, we had just obtained our minivan, so we were able to make the trip with much more room and comfort. So, in a mostly picture review,

WE

Celebrated 3, make that 4 birthdays!

After much trial, much error, and even more laughter, we enjoyed THIS Birthday Cake.

(I am well aware of the remarkable resemblance to the cake that the 3 fairies made for Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty:)

As we were just finishing opening presents on R.'s Dad's Birthday, we received the call that our newest niece had made her grand entrance into the world just in time to share the day with her Grandpa!

WE

Had a healthy dose of fun!

Fishing

Golfing, Shopping,

Hiking

Relaxing

and

Staying Up Too Late!

We also had the opportunity to celebrate Mother's Day with R.'s Mom this year. My sister-in-law and I thought it would be fun to throw a Tea Party for all the girls, (her daughters, her Mom, my daughter, and my Mother-in-law). We made invitations to invite our Moms' and the little girls painted frames to give to their Grandmas' with a picture commemorating the event. We all wore dress ups, and the little girls especially enjoyed the "chit-chat" as we practiced our most proper manners, using phrases like "My dear, would you be so kind as to..." and the like. It was really fun and I was reminded that I should do things like this more often. So to finish our California recap, here are some final pics of our

Mother's Day Tea

And as it seems to have taken me much longer than I though it would to cover this portion, I have to go, but I will be posting a second installment soon!

My Husband

Yes, it has been over a month since my last post! I am well aware and here to finally remedy the situation! I will post shortly in as condensed a version as possible as to our going ons here in the Crawford home this past month, but first, I wanted to directly address my sweet, wonderful, adoring husband with this one.

On May 13th, it was R.'s birthday. On May 14th, it was mine. Yes, I am less than 24 hours younger than my husband. When I think about this seemingly insignificant piece of trivia, I also always think of the early days of our courtship and the fact that I probably asked him TEN times when his birthday was (as we were just becoming friends) before I remembered, even though every time he told me he also added, "It is the day before yours, don't you remember that?" And then, I always think of how he used to tell me that we were just so madly in love in heaven, I couldn't wait any longer to get down here too once he left. Who's to say he's wrong?!

I am constantly amazed by him, in so many different ways, and have many moments where I find myself amazed at my own good fortune, not only that he loves me, but that he loves me like he does. When we were dating, one of my favorite songs was, I Can Love You Like That (the country version preferred). It was actually one of my favorites way before we were dating, possibly because I was 18 and hopelessly romantic, (as all 18 yearolds are), or it may have had something to do with the line in the song referring to "how you felt when Romeo kissed Juliet". Lets just say that my girlfriends and I had something for Mr. Leonardo DiCaprio.... whatever the case, when I started dating Ryan, I really thought I had stumbled upon Prince Charming. Charming may even be an understatement. He was confident, witty, handsome, sweet, sensitive, smart, and even had a Heritage Gold meal card! (I think that was the name, whatever it was, he had scholarships and was living the high life, and if I was special enough, I could join him!) (wink:)

Speaking of winks, he was really good at that too. The winks may not come as often these days, but when they do, they still make me feel all funny inside. He has always had the perfect embrace, held my hand in the just the right way, at the right times, and continues to be there when I need it most. These days, R. not longer has to worry about impressing me, as he has other bigger issues on his plate, like bringing home the bacon and providing for our future. Luckily though, he still finds time to "shoot me a memo" every now and then and remind me of why I married him, like the pearl earrings he gave me for Mother's Day this year. Even with all his responsibilities in life (which only seem to increase as the years go by), he still amazes me by his ability to come home and roll around on the floor with our kids and act like it is the best time he has had in years. He is an amazing father and I honestly don't think I could ask for more.

Although I may have once jokingly told him that I wanted "to be loved like that", he has somehow managed to be step up to the plate. I love him, and in honor of his 27th birthday, here are 27 things about him.

1. He can fix anything, and does fix everything!
2. He "gets" things, like APR and the economy.
3. He is witty.
4. He is intelligent.
5. He is ambitious.
6. He can sing.
7. He loves to fish.
8. He loves to sit and think, (perhaps that is why he loves to fish...)
9. He is an incredible teacher, i.e. teaching me to golf!
10. He is patient, especially with his children.
11. He has quiet strength and capacity.
12. He likes Salt and Vinegar potato chips.
13. He loves his family, his brothers and sisters are his best friends.
14. He thinks if I would let him go on Survivor, he could win, and I really think he could.
15. He is a San Francisco Giants fan.
16. He is missing 1/2 of his pinkie finger, thus teaching Alli to say "I love you" in sign language incorrectly, (she only uses her thumb and pointer finger).
17. He once wrote me from his mission sitting from a spot in Northern Spain and said it was one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen. He said we would sit there together one day, and I believe him.
18. He loves his Mom, He loves his Dad.
19. He likes all of his socks to look the same so that he doesn't have to worry about matching up pairs, thus
20. He is always thinking of how to make things more efficient.
21. He likes to golf, and says he likes to golf with me, and even though he is much better, I think he really means it.
22. He has probably a hundred different great business ideas that could make millions, but the thing is, that at least half of them probably could!
23. When he starts reading a book, it is hard for him to get anything else done until he has finished it-thus it is good he is usually too busy to sit and start many new books.
24. His children adore him.
25. He is an eagle scout.
26. He shares all his toys with me.
27. I LOVE HIM!